A lawyer for Yemeni inmate Samir Mukbel told AP she had been
notified by the Department of Justice last week that her client was
being fed against his will. On Monday, she was allowed to speak
with the prisoner over the phone, and confirmed the Department’s
report.

The inmate reportedly told her that he joined the hunger strike
in February, has lost over 10 kilograms in weight, and fainted at
one point and had to be taken to hospital. He described the feeding
process as painful.

"Some people have gone through this a lot but he said he had
never felt anything like it in his life," lawyer Cori Crider
pointed out.

Prison’s spokesperson Robert Durand said he was aware the
government was notifying lawyers whose clients were being
force-fed, though he did not know the reason for the
change.

The news comes after the Department of Justice repeatedly
refused to comment to RT about the hunger strike through the end of
March.

“The Defense Department oversees the detention facility at
Guantanamo Bay and is responsible for its operations – not the
Justice Department. I suggest you reach out to the Defense
Department office of public affairs for any interview regarding the
status of detainees at Guantanamo Bay,” the Department’s
spokesperson wrote in an email.

The latest hunger strike began on February 6 in protest against
a halt in prisoner releases ordered by President Barack Obama, and
the tightening of restrictions inside the notorious
facility.

Most of the 166 inmates were participating in the hunger strike,
the prisoners’ lawyers indicated, while the facility’s spokesperson
indicated to RT that 41 inmates were classified as hunger strikers,
with none of them currently in hospital.